Geology of the Maudina Mine area, northern Santa Catalina Mountains, Pinal County, Arizona Item Type text; Thesis-Reproduction (electronic); maps Authors Bromfield, Calvin Stanton, 1923- Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 28/09/2021 04:41:04 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/553781 GEOLOGY OF THE MAUDINA MINE AREA, NORTHERN SANTA CATALINA MOUNTAINS, PINAL COUNTY, ARIZONA by Calvin S. Bromfleld M A Thesis submitted to the faculty of the Department of Geology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE in the Graduate College, University of Arizona 1950 Approved: Director of Thesis aniM AHIOT'Ah 2HT TC TBCJOaO A8 51. Xfl t) \ bi °itnio*!t? .2 «JLvl/,D alaoriT & edcr c j AaJiimcfu# ad Of 4^ 5" ' % Nt. A / tTR^A osejc !6* voiacA iigsw w ^ r m s ----- - £ <H1C\\ CONTENTS Page H H H m Introduction...................... Location..................... Previous Investigations...... Field Work and Acknowledgments Climate...................... Topography................... General Geology.................................. 9 General Statement........................... 9 Sedimentary RocKs......................... 12 Cambrian System...................... 12 Middle Cambrian................. 12 Troy quartzite............. 12 Santa Catalina formation.... 14 Southern Belle quartzite.... 17 Upper Cambrian.................. 18 . Abrigo formation........... 18 Peppersauce sandstone...... 20 Devonian System...................... 22 Upper Devonian................. 22 Martin limestone.......... 22 Lower Ouray formation..... 25 Misslssippian System................ 27 Lower Misslssippian............ 27 Escabrosa limestone....... 27 Cretaceous System................... 31 Cretaceous Strata.............. 31 Age............................. 34 Relation to Misslssippian Strata Tertiary System..................... Gila Conglomerate (?).......... Quaternary System................... Older Alluvium................. Younger Alluvium............... Igneous RocKs.................. Oracle Granite............ Distribution......... Topographic Expression Petrography.......... Megascopic...... Microscopic..... Classification....... Age.................. 2 i c w Page Structure......................................... Regional..................................... General...................................... Folding....... .... ......................... Faulting....... ............................. General............ .................... North-South Faults..................... Northwesterly Faults................... Mogul Fault............................ Age............................... Maudina Fault BlocK................... Cretaceous F a u l t ' B l o c K . v .......... Thrust Faulting......................... ' ''f -> 1 * "r .>• - - I " t •' Economic Geology........................... 55 History of Mining;i...7;....i.........7 ...... \ 55 Ore Deposits............................. 57 Gene ral St at ememt. 7 i..::....... 7 ......... 157 Classification of Mineral Deposits...... 57 Mineralization, in Paleosoic Sediments... ■ .. Mineralization in Cretaceous Sediments.. 60 Mineralization in Granite.: .. .... ... 61 . ; ». ; 7•• ' r-* . ' V •• "Vi ’’ ■- • '■ ’ ’• : '• I > ■’ V k' . «• * ' .. ' ‘ -V „ V . • i b ILLUSTRATIONS 1" bh; p::\:; / OV 'vh-:- (b - :: cr:. Plate 1. Geologic-Map of the Campo Bonlto and : ; Maudina Mine Areas..................... In pocket 2. Geologic Sections of the Maudina Mine Area, Arizona.......... ............ In pocket 3. Location: of: the. Campo Bonlto; and Maudina Mine Areas Within the Winkel- man Quad;. ;.......;....... In pocket 4-9, 11-14. Photographic plates.......... After p. 63 10. Geologic GlocK Diagram of the Maudina Mine............ ................ ....... In pocket 15• Location of the Mogul Fault Within and to the East of the Maudina Mine Area.... In pocket Figure 1. Index Map of Arizona.Showing Location . --: of Maudina Tungsten Mine............... 2 INTRODUCTION Location The Maudina mine area in the southeastern section of Pinal County, Arizona, (see fig. 1) lies on the northeastern flank of the Santa Catalina Mountains. In plate 3 the rela­ tive location of the area within the WinKelman quadrangle is shown on an enlarged map of a portion of that quadrangle. Oracle, the nearest settlement, lies 3i miles in a straight line to the north-northeast of the thesis area. Seven miles north of Oracle is the San Manuel mine of Magma Copper Company and the Mammoth-St. Anthony mine. At present the latter is the only producing mine of the Old Hat District The Maudina mine is 7 miles south of Oracle on the old Mt, Lemmon road. This road is unimproved but graded and maintained. Normally it is in good condition except after rains or during periods of melting snows. Oracle is 4o miles north of Tucson via U. S. Highway 80, and State Highway 77. Only Bonito Canyon and the easternmost portion of the area are accessible by road. An ungraded road which is not passable throughout its entire length extends up Southern Belle Canyon. 2 ! o \yon ,-- ' M O H A C 0 (L 0 N I r i,< M_ ^'"'^BFla^staV ! Y A V A iSan Cahlos ui i O 33° ^ C H I S E i • _ Js'*NTA CRUZ Gulf of Cal iform a FIGURE I INDEX MAP OF ARIZONA SHOWING LOCATION OF MAUDINA TUNGSTEN MINE 3 Previous Investigatlone Little detailed work has been published on the Santa Catalina Mountains. W. P. Blake (1908, pp. 45-49) gave the first general description of the range. F. L. Ransome (1916, pp. 144-145) gave a brief summary of the geology based on worK which was being carried on at that time by 0. F. Tolman, but Tolman*s study was not completed. At Intervals between 1930-38 B. N. Moore carried on the worK. A map which was made as a result of these studies Is on open file at the Arizona Bureau of Mines. N. H. Barton (1925, p, 282) gives a section at Stratton Canyon on the northeastern flank of the range. W. M. Davis (1931, pp. 289-317) gives a physiographic Interpretation of the Santa Catalina Mountains In which he detects two periods of faulting connected with the genesis of the range. The first is a period of uplift'on the southern and western flanKs followed by depression along the same lines. A. Stoyanow (1936, p. 477) has given a description of the Apache group, the Cambrian, and Devonian strata as ex­ posed in Peppersauce Canyon. No detailed geologic worK on the structure has been published. Some worK in the vicinity of the Maudina mine has been done by various consulting geologists and engineers. None 4 of this material has been published but Is In private re­ ports to the owners of the Maudlna and Canspo Bonlto mining properties. Field WorK and AcKnowledgments An area of about 3i square milee was mapped during two months of the summer of 1948 and on weekends during the school year of 1948-49. Laboratory worK was carried out during 1948-49. R. W. Ludden conducted a similar study*.in an adjoining area to the west (see pi. 3) and a composite geological map of the two areas is included in this report. A preliminary U. S. Geological Survey topographic map on a scale of 1/24000 was made available to Mr. Ludden and the writer through the Kindness of Dr. B. S. Butler and served as an excellent base map for the geological worK. This was enlarged by photographic methods to a scale of 1/6000 for use in the field. Valuable information concerning the general area and particularly of the mines was furnished by Mr. E. H. Molson, owner of the Maudlna mine. Acknowledgments are also due to members of the Depart­ ment of Geology of the University of Arizona who gave of their time, especially to Dr. B. 3. Butler for discussion and suggestions, to Dr. M. N. Short for help with thin sec- ♦"Geology of the Campo Bonlto Mine Area, Northern Santa Catalina Mountains, Pinal County, Arizona," Univ. of Ariz. thesis. 5 tione, to Mr. E. D. McKee for a visit to the area, to Dr. A. A, Stoyanow for suggestions and identification of fos­ sils, and to Dr. F. W. dalbraith, thesis adviser, for dis­ cussion and criticism. The writer wishes to thank all mem­ bers of the Department of Geology for critical reading of the manuscript, Mr. R. W. Ludden and the author discussed mutual prob­ lems concerned with the adjoining thesis areas. These dis­ cussions were of great help in clarifying certain features of the geology. For these discussions and for Mr. Ludden*s company on many long days in the field the writer wishes to extend his gratitude. Especial thanks are due to the author*s wife for her companionship on occasional trips to the field and for her patience while typing the manuscript in both its prelimi­ nary and final forms. Climate The weather within the general region under considera­ tion is mild enough so that geological field worK may be carried on throughout most of the year with little discom­ fort. During the winter, largely in January, February and March, moderate amounts of snow fall. The mean annual snowfall at Oracle Is 12.2 inches. Within the Maudlna mine 6 area snowfall probably Is somewhat greater owing to the higher altitude. Occasionally the winter snows lying on the ground may Impede geological observations, but this condition seldom lasts for more than a weeK at a time. Precipitation, as In other parte of southeastern Ari­ zona, occurs at two seasons.